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Container deposit scheme to reduce litter

A cost-effective, best-practice container deposit scheme will help reduce litter.

A container deposit scheme in NSW may soon be realised with the introduction of the Waste and Resource Recovery Amendment (Container Deposit Scheme) Bill 2016 into State Parliament.

Under the container deposit scheme:

people in NSW will be able to return empty prescribed beverage containers between 150ml and three litres to collection points for a 10-cent refund

beverage suppliers will be responsible for covering the costs of refunds.

Containers not eligible for the scheme are those generally consumed at home and not typically found in the litter stream. They include plain milk, wine, fruit juice (more than 1 litre), health tonics and large flavoured milk containers.

A Scheme Co-ordinator will be responsible for the financial management of the scheme and for ensuring the scheme meets statewide targets.

Minister for the Environment Mark Speakman will appoint the Co-ordinator in early 2017, as well as appointing Network Operators who will be responsible for the operation of the scheme.

“This legislation puts us on track to enable the community to receive a 10-cent refund on eligible containers from 1 July, which will make a massive difference to our environment, parks, waterways and beaches,” Mark Speakman said.

“In 2014-15 almost 160 million beverage containers were littered across NSW – making up nearly half of the litter volume in the state. The container deposit scheme gives everyone a financial incentive to do the right thing.”